Discussions on Geography and geospatial technologies

Month: December 2009

I just read a weird article about “Some Ways to Make Children Think Santa Exists” that includes children follow Santa’s journey on Norad all the way up to a voice transmorgified phone call from Santa. Like “How to Lie With Maps“, it unitentionally raises some questions about how kids are influenced by technology. I would […]

The British Geological Survey, the world’s oldest national geological survey, is offering GEOSCIENCE, a free service for sharing geospatial information including maps, 3D maps, and photographs. The GEOSCENIC is really cool because it is geological photos from their archives that can be used free of charge for non-commercial purposes. They have a make-a-map function for […]

If you’re looking for map related gifts this year, one of the most extensive I’ve found is rare maps. You can search for maps by state or type. They even have a monthly contest to win a rare map . This December you can win a 1851 map of Russia in Europe. The only thing […]

Over on Engadget, I did spy with my little eyes the next great accessory for geospatial technologies…the Maplock. This amazing device allows you to chain your in-car navigation unit to your steering wheel to deter thieves from smashing your window and walking away with your GPS device. Admittedly some of the in-car systems are still […]

According to CNN, MIT has won Darpa’s Balloon Challenge. Darpa released the coordinates yesterday. They were the first to locate 10 weather balloon locations in the U.S. by promising to give away money in a chain format to all who send in locations. The DARPA Challenge site maps the locations of all the balloons in […]

According to the BBC, Eric Gordon Douglas from Edinburgh left nearly £11,000 for 20 towns around the world that share his surname. The Herald Scotland states that no one knows anything about their benefactor other than his name and home city. On the Rampant Scotland site you can find out “Is Your Home Town Named […]

Something that I’ve wanted to post for a while is Reader’s Digests 50 jokes for 50 states competition. You can be entered in a chance to win $1,500 for a funny but family friendly joke about your state. According to their introductory paragragh, jokes show “the U.S.A. is one big, happy dysfunctional family” It might […]